Chapter 6
A week passed since the meeting and already Clarke could see that news of what she had said before the representatives of the Twelve Clans was spreading throughout the city.
“You really said that?” Colste asked, chuckling. He, like many others, was proud of how Clarke had handled herself.
“It’s true,” Clarke said as she pulled a needle and thread through a cut in the man’s side. “There’s just no room for me to have any marks.”
“Still,” The man continued. “You probably could have been a tad bit more tactful, instead of insulting the man.”
“Hey, he started it.” Clarke replied. “He spent the entire meeting interrupting people with his own complaints and generally making life difficult for everyone in attendance.” She paused and her voice lowered while she kept her eyes on the work before her. “It’s hard enough living with what I’ve had to do without people like him invalidating it.”
“Your pain is understandable.” Colste said as he put a large hand on her shoulder. “The words of one branwoda do not negate that. Instead focus on remembering how many people you have saved.”
Clarke smiled sadly as she felt the hand on her shoulder start trembling slightly.
“Regardless of his character,” she joked in an effort to change subjects, “he still called me short, so he had it coming either way.” She stuck her chin out defiantly and grinned when her friend’s booming laugh filled the air.
“You have a point. No one insults Klark kom Skaikru’s stature without feeling the repercussions.” Clarke smiled and nudged the man half-heartedly shaking her head at her friend’s antics.
Colste was her usual sparring partner whenever Echo was too busy to train her. He was the first to march right past Juno into the practice pit and proudly state that he would be the one to teach the beautiful Skai Prisa to carry a blade with the same grace she carried herself. His patience and understanding of what she was going through, mixed with his ability to consistently make her laugh –usually with the Grounder equivalent of a cheesy pick-up line- made him one of her best friends in the city. He reminded her a bit of Bellamy with his easy demeanor and the way he withheld judgement because he himself was not what most would call innocent.
“I’ve been thinking,” Clarke said as she finished her stitching and reached for a clean rag.
“That’s never a good thing.” Colste interrupted. Clarke glared at him and smacked him lightly on the shoulder when he only laughed in response.
“I’m being serious, Colste.” She said, unable to completely keep the petulance out of her voice.
“My apologies, Sky Princess.” Colste grinned. “What is on your mind?”
“I’ve been thinking that I kind of don’t want to be called Klark kom Skaikru anymore.” She said carefully, eyes never leaving the wound she was busy cleaning.
“Why would you no longer wish to be associated with your people?” Colste asked curiously. “Are you not proud of your heritage?”
“It’s not that,” Clarke said shaking her head. “Even now, I still love my people and I still would be willing to do anything to protect them, but it’s not just them who are my people anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I don’t want to just be known for my ties to just one people when I’ve decided to try to save and protect as many people as I can, regardless of clan.”
“You would rather people know you care for all instead of a select few.” Colste finished.
“Exactly. I figured after what I’ve done, I should try to help more than just the remaining forty-four who came down with me. It might still haunt me, but the fall of the Mountain has brought peace, no matter how tenuous it might be, and I owe it to those who sacrificed everything to try and keep the bloodshed to a minimum.”
Colste hummed and nodded before speaking almost to himself. “Klark kom Kru does have a nice ring to it.”
Clarke laughed and wrapped her arms around her friend tightly. She still missed her family and friends from the Ark, but the people of Polis had helped her heal and build a life for herself where the atrocities of her past could be separate but not forgotten.
*(OoO)*
A week and a half passed before Clarke had to deal with yet another mishap. Only a few days after her conversation with Colste, her friends and many of her patients had already taken to addressing her as Klark kom Kru.
I swear it’s just one problem after another, she thought to herself as she stood in her usual place next to Lexa at the clan meeting. Unsurprisingly, the reactions to Clarke renouncing her old name garnered less than positive reactions from most of those attending. Even Lexa was staring at her with confusion.
“This is an outrage!” The delegate from the Ice Nation shouted. He wore an assortment of decorative furs that seemed far too warm for the middle of summer, and Clarke’s patience for him was already wearing thin after only two meetings where every other word out of his mouth was an attempt to undermine Lexa’s authority. “Heda, you can’t seriously expect us to sit here and listen to someone who actively disrespects not just her own people, but our sacred traditions as well!”
“I’m sure the Skai Prisa has a reasonable explanation for this.” Mado interjected calmly.
“Do you have an explanation, Fisa?” Lexa asked.
“I do, Heda.” Clarke replied evenly. Lexa nodded at her to continue, and watched as the blonde strode purposefully toward one of the many dark nooks that lined the walls around them. She looked into the shadows for a moment before calling out, “Echo could you come out here please?”
The whole room froze as they watched the young woman seemingly materialize from the shadows with a sheepish look on her face. Most people were aware that the Commander kept guards hidden in the shadows during meetings, but they were infamous for their ability to be completely unseen and unheard until they were needed.
“My apologies, Commander.” Echo said quietly.
Lexa nodded briefly before turning her attention back to the blonde who continued to surprise her at every turn.
“Echo, can you tell us what your full name is?” Clarke asked calmly.
“Ekko kom Heda Gona,” The other woman answered proudly.
“But before that you were kom Azgeda, right?”
“Yes, Skai Prisa, I renounced my clan to pay the life debt I owed to Heda as her personal guard.”
Clarke nodded then turned to Lexa next. “And you, Heda have also renounced your clan, correct?”
“I did,” Lexa answered. “When the spirit of Heda chose me, I renounced my loyalty to any single clan in favour of serving all people within my coalition.”
“And there’s your answer.” Clarke said to the group. “I still love the Sky People with all my heart, but I’m a healer in the service of all people, regardless of clan.”
With that she returned to her place next to Lexa, listening as a representative from the Horse Clan complained again of Ice Nation troops crushing their crops in what was once again referred to as nothing more than a military exercise.
Eventually, the meeting came to a close and, like last time, Clarke decided to stay behind, leaning against Juno as she watched the others leave. She remained standing, though, and prepared herself to defend her honour for the umpteenth time as she watched Grom lumber over to her.
“Skai Prisa,” He grunted, “is it true what you said about serving all peoples?”
“It is.” Clarke replied evenly. Her eyes widened in disbelief as, instead of challenging her, the large man dropped to his knees before them.
“Please come to the Marsh Clan and help my father.” He pleaded.
Clarke opened her mouth to speak when Lexa cut her off. “The Skai Prisa owes you nothing, Grom. Especially after how you insulted her at the last meeting.”
“I am aware of my mistake, Heda, and while I know I don’t deserve it, I beg of you Fisa Klark, I will gladly take the however many lashes you see fit if you’ll only help Ain nontu.” Clarke was shocked at the way the man’s voice quivered with emotion as he literally begged for her help.
“Stand up, Grom.” She instructed softly, ignoring Lexa’s curious gaze as she looked into the man’s sincere, brown eyes. “Now, tell me what happened.”
Grom sagged in relief and smiled before answering her question. “There was a raid. My father went out to help the other warriors but was injured in the fight. Afterwards, he instructed our healers to help the others first and by the time they got to him, it had already festered. We do not have access to the necessary resources to combat infection and as long as Ain nontu continues to refuse clan money be spent on him, our healers can do nothing but make sure he is comfortable.”
“Who was leading this raid?” Lexa asked.
“It is impossible to know with certainty, Heda.” Grom bit out, though the clench of his teeth and the way he glanced at the door said he had his suspicions. “We are a small clan and raids are not as uncommon as we would like.”
“I’ll leave for the Marsh Clan as soon as I can tomorrow, Grom.” Clarke said gently. “I promise you I will do everything in my power to help your father.”
“Thank you, Sky Princess. You have already done both me and my people a great service on this day.” And with one last smile of gratitude, the man left, leaving the two leaders alone at last.
“Tell me, Clarke,” Lexa asked, “why did you agree to help Grom?”
“Because he needed my help.” Clarke answered simply.
“And why did you not take him up on his offer of punishment as recompense for insulting you?”
“What would be the point?”
“He has disrespected you, he is deserving of a punishment.”
“There’s a difference between what he said at the last meeting and disrespecting me.” Clarke explained.
Lexa raised an eyebrow in curiosity, “How so? He insulted you in front of the other representatives, he should be lashed for every word uttered against you.”
“Even if my pride had been bruised by what he said, I returned the favour by embarrassing him as well, and I proved to the other delegates that I have the strength that comes from knowing.”
“I don’t know of this strength you speak of. Do you mean the strength that comes from understanding your enemy and knowing his next move?” Lexa asked. She was genuinely interested in what the blonde had to teach her now.
“Not quite,” Clarke replied. “Let me give you an example: if, say, that branwoda from the Ice Nation called you a trout, does that mean you’re a trout?”
“Of course not.” Lexa scoffed.
“Exactly. Now disrespecting someone like you is a grave offense, because he has made an attack against your honour, right?”
“Correct. Our honour and pride as warriors are of the utmost importance, especially when dealing with other clans.”
“Right,” Clarke said. “So if some branwoda called you a trout or made some other baseless insult towards you, you could have him lashed, but even if you do he will still have the upper hand over you.”
“How so? I’m not the one receiving the lashes.”
“Maybe not,” Clarke explained. “But by electing to have him lashed, you’re basically telling the world that your pride is so fragile, you feel the need to defend it against even the most petty of insults.”
“What would you have me do then?” Lexa inquired.
“Nothing.” Clarke supplied simply.
“You would have me let my subjects walk over me?” Lexa asked incredulously.
“No,” Clarke shook her head, chuckling. “I’m saying that when one of these delegates try to inflate their own oversized egos by attacking you with baseless insults, don’t react to them. If the others see that you’re above their pettiness, then not only will their insults fail to have the desired effect, but they’ll backfire. You will come out the bigger, more honourable person for not stooping to their level while they’ll end up looking petty and weak before the other representatives.”
“So this ‘strength that comes from knowing’ refers not to better understanding your opponent, but knowing yourself and using that to rise above the rest.” Lexa concluded. She shouldn’t have been very surprised that such a simple concept was never included in her training as Commander. Her training leaned more toward learning to lead from a battlefield, not a council room. In fact, most of what she learned about politics was self-taught, and she found herself relying on a mixture of cunning and military strategy while building the Coalition, and while she was an expert at war, maintaining the subsequent peace that followed had proven to be much more difficult than she thought.
“Precisely.” Clarke smiled. “Turning the other cheek is key to forging and improving relations. Often times, insults are made simply out of ignorance. It’s the ones that seek to undermine your authority and turn others against you that you should be wary of.”
“You are quite knowledgeable when it comes to these things, Clarke.” Lexa said. She smiled when the other girl blushed and studied the floor.
“I read a lot while on the Ark.” She mumbled.
“It seems to have paid off,” the Commander remarked. “So you think by ignoring Grom’s impudence and helping him, you will build rapport with the other clans.”
“No,” Clarke said, shaking her head. “I’m going to help a man’s father, you get to handle the political ramifications of us going there.”
“Us?”
“Oh, come on Lexa.” Clarke exclaimed. “We both know you’re going to be coming with me to the Marsh Clan.”
“Why is that?” Lexa asked.
“Because,” the blonde explained, “we both suspect who was really behind that raid, and politics aside, you hate seeing your people in pain as much as I do, so, you’ll go to them to let them know their Commander is with them.”
“I knew I made the right choice in asking for your help.” Lexa observed, smirking lightly.
“Not really,” Clarke flushed. “It’s obvious that war’s brewing, therefore you’re going to want as many people loyal to you as possible.”
“And what do you think of all this?” Lexa said with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
“I think it’ll garner even more favour if you brought a group of warriors to help guard their village while they recover and keep them safe from any future threats.” Lexa nodded as she listened to the sky girl, smirking as she paused. “But of course you were already going to do that, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” Lexa nodded. “I may not have quite your proficiency for politics, but I am still adept at making allies; and I agreed to talk to you about these sort of matters first.”
“Oh,” Clarke smiled brightly, “right.”
Silence fell between them and Clarke focused on petting Juno in a vain effort to distract herself from the heat in her cheeks. “Anyway,” She said after several awkward moments, “if that’s all Heda, I need to go prepare for tomorrow.”
Lexa opened her mouth to respond but was cut off when the door suddenly burst open.
“Heda.”
“Indra?”
“Clarke?!”
“Octavia?!”